Archived Looks like SPOT updated it's anti-union video.

[Barcode]

Can't be that new, they handed that guy a GREAT TEAM CARD! haven't seen those in a while.

In all honesty though, its really futile to even attempt to bring a union to Target. Most workers don't care one way or the other, and there is a constant supply of people to hire at Target. It really boils down to the fact that it is an unskilled, low paying job, which is damn near impossible to unionize -- Compared to say teaching or electricians where the workers demand union representation much more (and have much more bargaining power since skilled workers are hard to come by)

 

[bab5crusade]

Can't be that new, they handed that guy a GREAT TEAM CARD! haven't seen those in a while.

Well don't expect production teams to have the latest stuff. We were still showing this last year:

In all honesty though, its really futile to even attempt to bring a union to Target. Most workers don't care one way or the other, and there is a constant supply of people to hire at Target. It really boils down to the fact that it is an unskilled, low paying job, which is damn near impossible to unionize -- Compared to say teaching or electricians where the workers demand union representation much more (and have much more bargaining power since skilled workers are hard to come by)

Still that should not stop people who want change the company for the better. We know it is hard, but we should not stop and focus on the easiest. Look at the Wobblies. We've been fighting for worker rights for 100 years and successfully gotten some Starbucks and Jimmy Johns to unionize.

http://www.iww.org/unions/dept600/iu660/starbucks

 

[Barcode]

Can't be that new, they handed that guy a GREAT TEAM CARD! haven't seen those in a while.

Well don't expect production teams to have the latest stuff. We were still showing this last year:

In all honesty though, its really futile to even attempt to bring a union to Target. Most workers don't care one way or the other, and there is a constant supply of people to hire at Target. It really boils down to the fact that it is an unskilled, low paying job, which is damn near impossible to unionize -- Compared to say teaching or electricians where the workers demand union representation much more (and have much more bargaining power since skilled workers are hard to come by)

Still that should not stop people who want change the company for the better. We know it is hard, but we should not stop and focus on the easiest. Look at the Wobblies. We've been fighting for worker rights for 100 years and successfully gotten some Starbucks and Jimmy Johns to unionize.

http://www.iww.org/unions/dept600/iu660/starbucks

Unionizing small stores is one thing (especially when they are franchises oftentimes), but its totally different trying to unionize a corporate supergiant.

 

[bab5crusade]

Can't be that new, they handed that guy a GREAT TEAM CARD! haven't seen those in a while.

Well don't expect production teams to have the latest stuff. We were still showing this last year:

In all honesty though, its really futile to even attempt to bring a union to Target. Most workers don't care one way or the other, and there is a constant supply of people to hire at Target. It really boils down to the fact that it is an unskilled, low paying job, which is damn near impossible to unionize -- Compared to say teaching or electricians where the workers demand union representation much more (and have much more bargaining power since skilled workers are hard to come by)

Still that should not stop people who want change the company for the better. We know it is hard, but we should not stop and focus on the easiest. Look at the Wobblies. We've been fighting for worker rights for 100 years and successfully gotten some Starbucks and Jimmy Johns to unionize.

http://www.iww.org/unions/dept600/iu660/starbucks

Unionizing small stores is one thing (especially when they are franchises oftentimes), but its totally different trying to unionize a corporate supergiant.

If we can get one store. It may create an domino effect.

 

[redeye58]

If unions TRULY wouldn't benefit TMs, all spot has to do is let one store unionize. Just one.
If TMs didn't feel they got anything out of it, its failure could be far more effective than any cheesy video.

 

[Barcode]

If unions TRULY wouldn't benefit TMs, all spot has to do is let one store unionize. Just one.
If TMs didn't feel they got anything out of it, its failure could be far more effective than any cheesy video.

If I had to vote, I would probably go Union. But I'm not going to go out of my way to try and organize since I'm satisfied with Target as a weekend only job. A union would definitely benefit Team Members, but it wouldn't hurt spot to just close the store down and crush the union given they have 2000+ stores and 40B+ in assets.

Agree on both counts though.

 

[Guest]

I have to agree on the part about team members not caring about unions. Most people at Target are just there for a paycheck. And most team members are working paycheck to paycheck. They have enough to worry about. I can see a union as a club. I just think you should have a choice if you want to join. If you want to pay dues with your own money to be in a union, then why not? Target shouldn't be allowed to basically tell you that you're a piece of crap if you are in a union or even if you are thinking about joining a union. Target is always bragging about its diversity and tolerance yet they are very bigoted when it comes to union. Practice what you preach.

 

[bab5crusade]

I just think you should have a choice if you want to join.

This mentality is why America's union membership is pretty much dead & why capitalists fooled many American workers into "Right to Work" ideals.

 

[GrumpyAP]

She has weird teeth. ... Yep, I picked up on the important things.

 

[GrumpyAP]

OH NO DEAR GOD DONT LET THE UNIONS MAKE MY LEADERSHIP EVEN LESS ACCESSIBLE THAN THEY ALREADY ARE! WHAT IN THE FUCK WILL I EVER DO?!

 

[GrumpyAP]

"Someone else will be doing the talking for you and there's no guarantee you'll like what they have to say." - How exactly is this different from every fucking huddle or leadership conversation i've ever had?

 

[sher]

I know one girl who gets 40 hours every week. She's trained in a bunch of areas, management likes her, and she stalks the swap board. One day she worked from open to close just to get 40. She's clearly insane. Actually, after some thought, I know of two other full timers. They do pricing, presentation and sl.

I'm not in denial about how much b.s. was spewed in that video, though. Some of my coworkers are doing 5 hours a week, because target.

 

[Guest]

I just think Target's approach toward unions is laughable and downright embarrassing. They have the mentality "we are anti-union so you must obey us because we would have less power over you if you guy peasants had a union".

 

[GrumpyAP]

Anyone else's guest services look like the one in this video around 12:37? ... I swear I've been to this 'land of happiness and dreams' location before.

 

[Guest]

I laughed at the "we believe in two way communication" part. Not at my store. I get 95 percent of my information from team members. An ETL, STL, TL, or team member gets fired and I have to ask a team member about it. Target is a business but they don't want you to give your business to unions. That is not fast, fun, and friendly.

 

[sigma7]

Dawn and Ricardo represent the best of ETLs. I loke how the Ricardo zooms in after the backroom tm can't help the guest in domestics...and then doesn't help her either lol. Propaganda videos are awesome.

The truth in this video is that I keep seeing the same 10 tms working all over the store doing everything. That sounds about right.

 

[Producer]

My questions for those complaining are:
1. How are you specifically being victimized by your store leadership/corporate?
2. What would a union do to fix this?

There was once a time when the only union that a person needed to be successful was the union of their hard work with a positive attitude. And if you truly are being treated like sh-t, then you leave and find a better job.

I, for one, am grateful for my minimum wage job. I know I'll have to work weekends. I know that despite the fact that I am cross trained in five different departments, when payroll is down, I will probably end up with 12-16 hours a week. I know that raises and reviews are based just as much on sales and forecasts as they are on job performance. But in spite of all that, I know that a job is a job. You work it without bitching about it, and if it's not putting food on the table, you use the experience and the connections to find a better job. You don't go crying to papa union to fix your problems. Call me old fashioned, but that's how I see it.

Let the angry responses commence.

 

[Guest]

I cannot stand the whole "if you don't like it, leave" mentality. That is so rude and insensitive. Peasant workers represent probably 95% of the work force at Target. I should be treated like a person. My fellow peasants should also be treated like people. Just because it's retail and cutthroat, it does not give Target the right to treat you like crap. I have no sympathy for the "it's retail" or "if you don't like it, leave" attitudes.

Unions aren't perfect and they have their ups and downs but they would probably help. Wouldn't you love to have a union rep with you when you are being coached and/or interrogated by ETLs in the HR office? Wouldn't you like to have someone that would actually be on your side when you are being character assassinated by your supervisors?

 

[Producer]

Wouldn't you love to have a union rep with you when you are being coached and/or interrogated by ETLs in the HR office? Wouldn't you like to have someone that would actually be on your side when you are being character assassinated by your supervisors?

So that I can have a witness when I get fired for something that Target is completely within their rights to fire me for? What's a union rep going to do, threaten a walk out? Happened in california to a bunch of major supermarket chains around 10 years ago. For several months, the employees of three of the biggest chains in the state stood outside the stores with signs protesting. Didn't stop people from shopping there as the chains just hired a bunch of scabs. The union called off the strike five months later after striking a deal that would provide increased health benefits for the employees (which were marginal at best and have effectively been made null and void by the ACA) at the expense of lower starting wages and the loss of time and a half on Sundays. Even with the leveraged power of three major chains, unions still came out on the losing end. Why? Because like someone said, retail positions are easily filled by people off the street who appreciate a paycheck.

This isn't peasantry. You have the potential for upward social mobility that hadn't been present until the past sixty years, and still doesn't exist in 90% of the world.

 

[Guest]

This pretty much sums up what I'm saying.

 

[commiecorvus]

My questions for those complaining are:
1. How are you specifically being victimized by your store leadership/corporate?
2. What would a union do to fix this?

There was once a time when the only union that a person needed to be successful was the union of their hard work with a positive attitude. And if you truly are being treated like sh-t, then you leave and find a better job.

I, for one, am grateful for my minimum wage job. I know I'll have to work weekends. I know that despite the fact that I am cross trained in five different departments, when payroll is down, I will probably end up with 12-16 hours a week. I know that raises and reviews are based just as much on sales and forecasts as they are on job performance. But in spite of all that, I know that a job is a job. You work it without bitching about it, and if it's not putting food on the table, you use the experience and the connections to find a better job. You don't go crying to papa union to fix your problems. Call me old fashioned, but that's how I see it.

Let the angry responses commence.

I'm not angry, just confused.

What 'once upon a time' are you talking about? the time when little boys hauled coal and little girls worked in factories? Or when men worked in mines and routinely died of black lung? Maybe it was when people worked six days a week as a standard? Those were just a few of the things that unions changed.

Of course, the video casually brushed those important things off saying there are laws now and so unions aren't needed. What they don't mention is that if the stores in the region are heavily unionized the standard salaries are higher so Spot has to pay more to match.
Yes, the retail union are not as strong as the other unions which makes their entire, they won't let you work certain departments or cross train bullshit, absolutely not true.

What they can do, is have a union representative when you are being coached. That's their whole "you won't have direct contact with management". You can talk to them in a positive fashion all you want but if they call you in, you get to have a rep with you and they can speak for you. It's call your Weingarten Rights.

As I said before I was victimized in a way that a union would have helped.
In the current economy finding a new job isn't very easy as I can also tell you.

So yes, a union might not be perfect but it would help a lot.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

This. All this. Thank you commie!

 

[Deli Ninja]

I would hope that a Union would work toward a living wage and enough hours to meet expectations (as well as receive that living wage). How is it fair to be paid $8/hr and given only 10 hours a week because you had to limit your availability for the second job you had to get because you were only getting 20 hours a week at Target? How is it fair to be told the closing SL team has to perfectly zone two to three sections of a Super Target softlines when you're really lucky if you have 3 closers and 2 is the norm?

If I knew I could join a Union without potentially losing my job at Target, I would. As it is, I'm putting out applications and waiting for calls back and interviews elsewhere.

 

[bab5crusade]

If I knew I could join a Union without potentially losing my job at Target, I would. As it is, I'm putting out applications and waiting for calls back and interviews elsewhere.

*COUGH* Here *COUGH*

 

[lovecats]

I laughed at the "we believe in two way communication" part. Not at my store. I get 95 percent of my information from team members. An ETL, STL, TL, or team member gets fired and I have to ask a team member about it. Target is a business but they don't want you to give your business to unions. That is not fast, fun, and friendly.

Actually, I get 95% of my information from here. After I watched that whole video (it's like watching a train wreck, you want to stop and you just can't) all I could think of is that "that's 15 minutes of my life I'll never get back".